Trying to catch up with my March reads. I am so desperate to try and actually review my books this year!!! And now I have to somehow write about my April reads!
8. Where were you Robert? Hans Magnus Enzensberger
This is a German translation into English. It concerns a curious teenager, Robert, who has strange eyes. When he rubs his eyes and happens to be looking at an image of a place, he somehow time travels and ends up there. It's such a curious and imaginative story with Robert ending up in all sorts of places- Soviet Russia, rural Australia, the home of his Grandmother...and back and back in time Robert ends up...you wonder how on earth he will ever get home again. The translation is by Anthea Bell who is a superb translator (she translated my beloved Famous Five 19 sequel books by French author, Claude Vollier) - I love the feelings, the historical details- I have such a strong sense of place and character in this book. Robert learns much along the way. I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. I thought it would be one of those books I read once and give away but I really like the idea of reading it again.
9. A day in the death of Dorothea Cassidy - Ann Cleeves
Dorothea Cassidy is a vicar's wife, social worker, kind soul and is involved in all aspects of lives in the town where she lives. But she is found dead in the park, beautifully laid out in a floral display. So who would want to kill her? This was intriguing. It wasn't the usual, 'everyone-thinks-the-victim-is-wonderful but they have a dark secret'-type of plot, it was a bit different and very intriguing. I genuinely wasn't sure who the killer was, which was interesting, and I got it wrong who actually was the perpetrator. I liked the lead detective in this case. I'm not sure if it is a series or not but it was great Whodunnit and I wouldn't be adverse to reading more books of this genre by Ann Cleeves. I give it 4 out of 5.
10. Uncommon Type- Tom Hanks
This book was kindly given to me by Hazel when I expressed an interest in it. (I have subsequently passed it onto an ex-blogger, Char, who is a Hanks fan and, who I hope, will pass it onto other ex-bloggers who are Hanks fans.) It is a set of short stories which all have the mention of a typewriter in them, in some, a key plot device, in others, a mere mention.
There are a couple of stories that are linked by characters (dotted throughout the compilation) and I liked meeting these characters a few times, even if I found the second adventure (in which they seemed to be travelling to the Moon in a homemade rocket!) a bit bizarre! I liked the first story in which 2 of the characters begin a relationship. Another really lovely story was about the purchase of a typewriter from a specialist shop. The typewriter at my grandparents' house was a huge part of our childhood and we LOVED sitting up there in the study typing away on it. I still have some wonderful typewritten letters from my Grandad- they are so synonymous with my grandparents that this book made me feel nostalgic to own one (CBC would NOT be best pleased if I indulged though....something to do with filling up every single ounce of space or horizontal surface). The stories were all different but all had a wonderful imagination and sense of place, even if some of the characters felt a little 2 dimensional. I really enjoyed this book.
11. Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch
Confession- I read the first book in the Rivers of London (aptly named that) series and wasn't that fussed by it after loads of reading friends raved about it, recommended it to me and told me I'd love it. I bought that and this book at the same time and didn't bother to read this one for a few years. In the meantime, I read a short novella called October Man on holiday in Italy as I had run out of actual books, didn't want to read my Kindle, and borrowed it from my Mother-in-Law.
In this story, Peter Grant, PC and wizard in the police force, first new wizard in 50 years goes out to Herefordshire to investigate whether 2 missing girls has anything to do with magic. In the search, he encounters talk of the fey folk, he is accompanied by the Goddess of the Beverley Brook in South London. This book was SO much better than the original Rivers of London book and I found I enjoyed all the whimsical writing- there was a real sense of mystery in the solving of the crime and we learnt more about the history of the magical world and I sense there will be more revelations in future books. A fun and imaginative read with serious elements as well as some very apt observationally comedic elements.
12. The 7 professors of the North - John Fardell
Another book which I bought from a charity shop, this is, I guess, a sort of Science Fiction story for children. It is wonderfully imaginative and takes us to very far north!
Sam's parents have an unexpected conference so luckily, he's saved from staying with an awful auntie, by the arrival of Professor Ampersand to takes him to Edinburgh, along with his grandchildren Ben and Zara to stay. However, his arrival to the quirky home of inventions is interrupted by the arrival of a very ill Professor Gauntraker who, along with Prof A. was one of the 7 professors of the Far North. a university on Nordbergem, a small island inside the Arctic circle. But the wonderful place of education was devasted by the betrayal of theft from it by Professor Murdo. All the professors were left for dead but mysteriously managed to escape home and begin new lives. But now, Professor Murdo is back in Nordbergen!!! At this point, the professors are attacked and kidnapped by agents of the villain and taken to Nordbergen. It's up to the 3 children to try and rescue them before Professor Murdo unleashes a secret invention so dreadful, it could mean the end of the world!!! They are aided in their journey by the mysterious method of a secret train that takes them as close as they can to Nordbergen and are helped by a motley collection of characters. The description and characterisation of this fun sci-fi kids book is really delightful and I really did picture the place and the feelings of being in them with a pounding sense of urgency and time ticking away! I loved the secret train and its history and really wish it was true! There was a great ending to this story and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
13. Letters to the editor- Ralph. A. Hummel
I was sent this wonderful collection of letters last year, crafted by my lovely blog-friend Ally, one of the cleverest and most kind bloggers I know. Ally has written many letters to the papers over the years to the New York papers which have wonderfully (and rightfully) been published and Ally had compiled them into one book. Sadly, when it arrived, my husband accidentally spilt a cup of coffee over it and I quickly dived in and put kitchen-roll paper in between the pages and put it safely out the way to dry. Of course, I then completely forgot about it until March, when, to my delight, I found the collection had dried out and hadn't been ruined in any way, just had a vague stain on a few pages. Hurrah! Ally is an attorney so a lot of the letters have a legal theme and a lot to do with ethics but there are comments on political issues, reference to the boycotting of Jane Fonda because of her legal views on war (written AND published at the tender age of 15!!!!) a strange request from a first Law boss regarding a Christmas tree written in a very witty, succinct way, an unpublished letter expressing love for a memoir but rewarded with a letter from the author of the memoir, reference to the treatment of disabilities, reference to sexism from radio presenters and a whole other set of letters. Ally has SUCH a succinct, clear writing style that shows the supreme intelligence and sensitivity I know her for and I felt able to understand the things I was reading about. There are little hints of Ally's working life and I felt honoured to gain insight into a dear blogging friend's life outside of the blog.
What did you read in March (or indeed April....which I hope will come soon!)
xx